


Echoes of Blue

by eternalglitch



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Post-No Mercy and Neutral Routes, flowey of course thinks this is all hilarious, neither is papyrus, sans is not having a good time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-05-23 13:31:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6117958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalglitch/pseuds/eternalglitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the human leaves the Underground with one stolen soul accompanying them, the Underground falls back into its regular routine. Except now there's someone missing. Flowey considers what happened to be wonderful karma. Sans doesn't quite agree.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Cover by me](http://eternalglitch.tumblr.com/image/140094317571)  
>  Welcome to my next story! Please enjoy your stay~

_journal entry #436:_

_kill the kid as soon as you can. do not wait. wait and you'll regret it, buddy._

_looking at the past entries, i can tell i was naïve. papyrus is once again dead and i know the kid is probably going to reset again soon._

_don't make the same mistake again, okay?_

_…_ _i'm going to go try and stop this once and for all. but if you're reading this then i guess i failed._

_just… strike first, got it? you can't trust them. that monster will make you regret it._

.

Sans slipped the journal back into the drawer, taking a shuddering breath. He rubbed a skeletal hand over his face, his perpetual exhaustion weighing heavily down on his soul.

It was the same routine everyday.

If he was up for it, Sans would heave himself out of bed at noon, walk downstairs and eat whatever Papyrus left out for him. Then he would go check his notebook for any entries dated for today.

Sometimes there weren't any. Those were good days.

Today, however, there was enough to fill a novel. Black, ugly marks, scratched onto the page that told of the ordeal everyone Sans knew and cared for were going to go through soon.

Today was definitely a terrible day.

After flipping through the numerous pages his alternate selves had scribbled instructions and notes on, Sans decided to go to Grillby's and stock up on ketchup before he went out to his guard duty. If his journal entries told him anything, he was probably going to need a good, long drink after today.

.

Sans leaned against the tree, one eye open as he flipped through the car magazine.

The forest was uneasily silent, and Sans suppressed a yawn as he came to the dog-eared page that had a big red circle on it. On this page was a red convertible car, exactly like Papyrus' current bed. Sans had found this magazine about four weeks ago in the garbage piles, and it was fairly new, so he figured that the car was still being sold on the surface.

Maybe one day he could buy it. Not for himself, of course- Sans had no materialistic aspirations past his next nap- but he knew somebody who would love it, at least. Sans could only imagine the look of elation that would swell on his brother's face, and his grin grew slightly just thinking about it.

There was a soft creak as a door somewhere swung open, and Sans opened his other eye, rolling the magazine up and sticking it into his back pocket as his grin gained its fake posture once again.

Time to see what kind of creature hell had spat out of its belly.

.

The creature- human, perhaps, but Sans wasn't sure humans could be as heartless as his journal entries described- had red eyes, and a smug grin that widened whenever they looked at Sans. Taunting him.

Maybe he should do as his alternate self said. But the kid hadn't actually hurt anyone yet. His journal had detailed notes on the path of destruction the kid had wrecked, and Sans… Sans wasn't seeing any of that.

Hell, the kid was borderline _friendly_ to monsters. The only time Sans felt uneasy was whenever the kid looked directly at him.

The strange kid looked like they knew something that Sans didn't.

What it could possibly be about, though, Sans was clueless.

All he knew was that whatever it was, Sans didn't like it one bit.

.

Papyrus and the kid went on a date.

Strange.

Sans, of course, had been waiting in the closet- _sorry bro, this time there actually was a skeleton in the closet despite your assurances else wise_ \- just in case, but after the easy and peaceful conclusion to the battle between the two, Sans was officially miffed.

This couldn't be the same creature his journal entries were talking about.

It couldn't be.

.

"I want to talk to you. Alone."

Sans grinned, leaning across the counter. "sure, kid, but why don't we go get some lunch first while we talk it over? good thing about having multiple jobs- there's twice as much required break time."

The kid's eyes narrowed, the brilliant red orbs drilling into Sans' own for a moment before they giggled. "Oh, but this is a very private conversation. I want no one else to overhear it by accident."

They shot a quick glance at the monster always standing besides the echo tower and at the Monster Kid, who both stared quizzically back before getting the idea.

"Yo, I think I can catch a glimpse of Undyne if I head off now," the yellow monster said. "Catch ya later, maybe?"

"Me too. I'll, uh, just tell people back at Snowdin about the echo flowers for a while," the other monster said quickly, wandering off.

The two were left in silence, and Sans propped his chin up with his hand, wondering what the kid wanted.

"well?" He asked, feigning boredom. "what's so important? you better not try to be pulling my leg here, kiddo."

"Heh. Hardly," the human said cheerfully. Their grin spread back over their face in full, brilliant force, and they leaned against the counter so Sans had to look up a bit to meet their gaze from where he sat. "I know you're aware of my resets, Sans," they giggled. "I know that you know I've killed everyone dozens of times."

Sans felt his smile go brittle, felt sweat start to bead. He rolled his shoulders once, trying to shake off the chill that was shooting down his spine. "erm. kiddo…? where are ya goin' with this, exactly?"

He didn't deny it. Why didn't he deny it?

"Wellllll." The kid shrugged, nonchalant and unconcerned with the possibility of Sans attacking them. "You're always the one to off me, you know? And I mean, that was awesome the first dozen times, but. I'm kind of bored with you getting in my way."

Sans' white pupils flickered out of existence, and he slowly sat up. "so…what? are you going to kill me early on? you're still level one buddy, don't get quite so cocky."

The kid…human… _creature_ laughed again. "Still getting it wrong, as always. I've seen you at your worst, you know. Crying over your brother's dust, overcome with rage, broken with sadness. You've never been able to stop me completely- just prevent me from moving forwards. And recently, I've been moving forwards quite a bit. But I came to realize something important: this is all really pointless."

"what…?"

"I never wanted to kill monsters. It's humans I hate, Sans!" The creature giggled, red eyes flashing. "So I came up with a deal, just for you."

"…a deal? i'm not sure if i can trust anything you offer to me."

"Well, who knows? I've kept part of my side of the deal already, after all." The kid summoned their soul, gazing down at the red heart with a twisted expression of joy. "So, anyways, here's my deal: give me your soul here. And I won't hurt a single other monster as I leave."

Sans almost fell off of his chair. His eyes narrowed, and he quirked an eyebrow at the kid. "uh… what? buddy, i'm not stupid. i'm not just gonna sit here and let you kill me."

"I only need one boss monster soul to leave. Whether that's yours, or your brother's, or someone else's, you can decide." The human winked at Sans, and Sans' eyes narrowed. "But you're really tired by now, aren't you? If you just do this one little favor for me, then it's all over. I'm gone for good, and the Underground is no worse for the wear. It's not like you do anything other than sleep and get drunk all day, so it's a win-win, right? You're not important to anyone here."

Sans stared at the creature, his eyes narrowing into black orbs of cold rage, fingers drummed against the counter, a menacing _click-click_ noise that drew the human's eyes for a split-second.

"no deal, buddy."

The creature didn't seem unnerved, still grinning as their eyes drilled holes into Sans' head. "Oh? Are you sure?"

"absolutely. if you manage to kill me, after all, uh, what's to stop you from killing everyone else anyways?"

The human's smile faded, and they pulled out a knife, examining it with cold, calculating interest. "Fine. Then how about this? You fight me here. If you win, I won't harm anyone. If you lose, I get your soul and still don't hurt anyone. It's to your advantage, right? After all, I'm just level one," the human sighed. "...And if you refuse me again, I'll go track down everyone you care about and cut them into little shreds, okay? I can do this all day, Sans."

Sans stared back at them, and his eye flared blue as he slid off of his seat. If the kid was going to be stubborn about it, then fine. He might as well just do as his journal entry suggested then. "fine. but it's your funeral, buddy."

And yet.

.

Chara giggled again, gently taking hold of the small white soul. "How pretty," they murmured cheerfully, pulling it in close.

They paused for a moment to glance around one more time. Sans' dust had scattered everywhere, coating the sentry station, the ground, and the echo flower in a soft gray powder.

It was kind of beautiful, Chara supposed. Like the ashes after a fire had burned everything down.

They had gotten what they had come for. Now, all that remained was to get out of this god-awful place for good.

Chara had places to go, people to kill after all.

Sans was normally strong, but his feelings were his biggest weakness. It wasn't that hard to kill him once Chara knew that, after all. Chara had already killed Sans once before all of this. After hundreds of practices, Chara had memorized and perfected their attacks against Sans to bring him to his knees. Even after all of Sans' whining, Chara was stronger in the end. Sure, Sans had been easily stronger than they were attack-wise this round. But he hadn't counted on them using a tactic like shouting out his brother's name and making him turn to look just as they sank their knife deep into his chest. No matter Chara's level, Sans only had the base stat of one HP. It was over immediately.

Feelings like care and love were useless, after all. Only LOVE was important to Chara.

The human child turned and skipped off, humming cheerfully to themself.

They would keep their promise… this time. Maybe if they didn't like how this went they would reset a month from now and just redo this.

Chara had already killed every single living creature in the Underground at least once before, after all. That was now boring, and the outside world's appeal was far stronger.

The whole world was in Chara's grasp now that Sans was out of the picture.

.

The figure ran past the darkened hallway, lab coat flapping as she ran. Her footsteps echoed off of the empty walls, and several figures of white watched from afar as the figure had dashed for her notes lying abandoned on the table in the mirror room.

The entries on the wall lit up as she passed by, an eerie green glow that made the monster's frantic expression seem even more apprehensive and agitated.

* * *

LAB ENTRY -:

Papyrus came by and begged me to try something, but I refused.

I'm not experimenting on monsters anymore.

Besides, his brother... he's already turned to dust weeks ago.

I couldn't do anything for him even if I tried.

* * *

LAB ENTRY -:

I don't know what to do. He keeps asking, and now the king also wants to know if there will be any way out of the Underground any time soon. I can't return any of their phone calls or letters. I can't face them now that the old pressures are coming back.

What do I do?

* * *

LAB ENTRY -:

I decided to retest the determination experiment after all.

The last vessel I used vanished, so there was no evidence on its failure or success.

Maybe I'll learn something to fix this. Maybe I'll learn something to make up for my mistakes.

* * *

LAB ENTRY -:

I was tired of the seeds sticking to me from the last attempt, so I threw the old control groups out and decided to use another type of vessel.

These will do nicely; the soft light they give off feels like an indication of something good.

* * *

LAB ENTRY -:

Nothing is happening. I've waited even longer for this plant and given it even more determination, but maybe this was all just a wild goose chase. Maybe the king just picked the flower to keep in one of the vases inside of his house…

* * *

LAB ENTRY-:

The sentry station looked lonely, so I replanted the flower.

This was a stupid idea.

* * *

LAB ENTRY -:

The flower is gone again.


	2. Turning Over a New Leaf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got myself a beta reader! Big thanks to FlightlessTree from fanfiction.net for helping out with this chapter (and the chapters yet to come!).
> 
> Beta Notes: Ahh what a great start, I hope you readers as excited as I am to see where this story goes! Poor Sans, he is already looking pretty... petal-thetic… ha. I’m excited to be working with Eternity on this, neither of us have tried this Beta thing before, but it is already going well and is very fun! I’m already looking forward to chapter two!

Sans had always worn masks to hide himself from the rest of the world. It wasn’t like he had purposefully started doing it; it had just… happened.

He was the fool, the joker, the card no one was expecting and was ignored without a second glance until the moment it needed to be played.

Sans was okay with that.

Sure, having the job of helping run the kingdom from the background during dire emergencies wasn’t exactly his cup of ketchup, but at least during those moments Sans had felt important. Like the despair he fostered inside himself was wrong, like he could actually make a difference to help someone in ways Sans couldn’t even help himself.

Funny. Sans quietly wondered when his masks managed to fool himself. 

Sans’ eyes slowly opened, and he blinked as his surroundings shifted into focus. His entire body tingled, yet he couldn’t feel a thing.

Oh well. Maybe if he went back to sleep his body would wake up on its own.

His eyes drifted shut again for a second, and images of a wide grin and a knife flickered before his eyes, a golden backdrop appearing for a second before the scene transitioned to the blue caves of Waterfall.  _ “What’s Papyrus doing here at this hour?”  _ A voice tittered, and Sans jerked awake again as phantom flashes of pain arched through his body, his eyes widening.

No… This didn’t make any sense. The human had managed to stab him. Sans shouldn’t be here. Sans  _ couldn’t  _ be here. If the human had reset, that would be one thing, but Sans wouldn’t remember that he had died. What was going on here?

Sans studied his surroundings, curious. He was besides one of his sentry stands, right next to the entrance to Snowdin in the Waterfall entrance. Right where he had been when that kid…

His gaze shifted down, and Sans stiffened.

His body was gone.

Holy shit his body was  _ gone. _

What did that little brat  _ do _ ? “welp. that’s not, uh, normal,” Sans chuckled uneasily, peering down and studying the blue stem that had replaced his skeletal body. His vision was rimmed by bright blue petals, and Sans, now that he stretched his awareness a little bit, could feel roots underneath him. “this is a pretty, uh, unflowgettable joke.”

Sans turned, relieved he could still move his head at least, to look back at the sentry stand. Welp. He wasn’t tiny, at least. In fact, it seemed he was in the same spot the echo flower that had previously been here had stood.

Somehow, Sans had become an echo flower, and he didn’t find this strange twist of fate very humorous.

More concerning than his new body, however, Sans couldn’t feel… anything. Not panic. Not despair. Just a kind of removed disbelief. He hadn’t expected… this, to say the least.

The annoying yellow flower came to mind, and Sans remembered that that nuisance had managed to move around just fine in his journal notes. But damn, did this mean he was like that talking flower now? Sans sighed, tired. He was all alone, and for once in his life Sans knew Papyrus wouldn’t come looking for him anytime soon. Did Papyrus even know that Sans was…?

No. Nope, Sans wasn’t going to think about that. For now, he should just make sure his brother was alright.

Just to make sure no one else was within easy calling distance, Sans turned back to look down the path to Snowdin. “uh… paps? undyne? can anyone hear me?”

Nothing but the sound of rushing water replied. Sans sighed, exhaustion tugging at him. His voice sounded strange, high pitched and distorted, and Sans wondered if it would really hurt to just go back to sleep. Had this happened to him in any of the other resets? If so, his journal notes had never mentioned it. Sans wiggled his roots, slightly intrigued as sensation slowly returned to his body, and hesitated for a moment longer before he sighed again.

Forget terrible. This day was going to be abysmal.

Taking a deep breath (Did flowers need to breathe? Maybe. But what Sans knew scientifically about plants didn’t seem to apply in the same way right now.) Sans burrowed into the ground. His vision went dark, but his roots reached out, and each tremor of the earth and the soil transmitted a clear picture of the surrounding area. Heh, and Papyrus had always complained Sans was way too  _ dirt _ y.

Sans quickly traveled to Snowdin, pausing to poke his head out in the shadows of his house. The windows were dark and Sans could see one set of familiar tracks leading out of the house towards the center of town. They didn’t overlap with any other footprints, so Papyrus must’ve left the house and gone out for the day. Sans was lucky it hadn’t snowed again since then.

Fortunately, Sans knew exactly where that skeleton was probably building puzzles. The wind brushed by Sans’ face, and Sans could feel his… petals? Uh, yup, petals, getting uncomfortably cold. He idly wondered if flowers could get frostbite, and knew that it would be wise to quickly find Papyrus and go talk where it wasn’t quite so frigid.

Sans sighed. As a skeleton, he never had to worry about this. What a pain.

Careful not to let anyone notice the large blue echo flower, Sans slipped through the dirt and soil and moved towards Papyrus’ prime hunting grounds.

Sans hesitated; he could feel with his roots some faint vibrations coming from up ahead. Were those voices? He hoped so, this was exhausting. Sans wanted to find Papyrus quickly and just get this over with already.

It was snowing when Sans popped his head above ground. He swiveled his head as he slipped up next to a tree to avoid being seen. Conversation drifted through the air, muffled by the snow, and Sans’ trademark grin he had fixed on his face slipped into a frown as he listened.

“-aw, come on, Papyrus, it’s not that bad.”

“YES IT IS,” a rough voice replied. “I JUST… IT’S BEEN THREE MONTHS, FLOWEY. I CAN’T HELP BUT THINK OF HIM EVERY TIME I ENTER THE HOUSE AND I.. I…”

“It’s not  _ your _ fault your brother was weak, okay? He was just in a bad place at a bad time.”

“BUT I TRUSTED THE HUMAN. I LET THEM THROUGH AND DIDN’T CAPTURE THEM WHEN I COULD HAVE. IF I HAD THEN… THEN… SANS WOULD STILL BE ALIVE.”

“Golly, that does sound tough. But didn’t your brother only have 1 HP? That couldn’t have been helped, right? You need to move on, Papyrus.”

“I CAN’T…”

Sans shuddered, wrapping his leaves around himself. He didn’t want to hear this. All of those years of making sure Papyrus was happy, of sneaking Christmas presents to him, of paying the bills, of watching his back, and surprise!

It was Sans who took that happiness he tried so hard to protect away from Papyrus.

Or… no. That wasn’t right. It wasn’t Sans’ fault... but the fault of the human.

Sans had never believed in killing people without good cause, but if he ever saw that brat again he was sure to make an exception.

And now what? Sans was hesitant to look, afraid his bright blue figure would draw attention from Papyrus and that damn flower. Would it be kinder or crueler to show himself to Papyrus?

Sans’ eyes dimmed, and he sighed. He didn’t know. He just- he didn’t know what to do anymore. 

What was the right thing to do in this situation?

Sans couldn’t take care of himself, let alone take care of Papyrus while he was stuck in a flower’s body. He would be even more of a burden now than ever before because he couldn’t work anymore.

Sans turned his attention back to Papyrus, bristling as his brother’s voice sniffed a few times while Flowey kept cooing encouragements and trying to comfort Papyrus by making it sound like Sans had this entire mess coming to him.

Damn that flower.

Sans had half the mind to go out there and throw everything right back in Flowey’s face, but the fear of facing Papyrus and messing things up even worse than they already were kept him pinned behind that tree, staring listlessly down at his blue leaves.

Finally, after what felt like hours and Sans was actually starting to worry about the dark shade the tips of his leaves were turning, Papyrus sighed.

“WELL, I PROMISED MY OTHER FRIEND TO GO SPAR WITH HER, SO I SHOULD REALLY GET GOING,” he told Flowey.

Flowey’s voice chirped back cheerfully. “Okay, friend, see you later then!” 

Papyrus’ gave a subdued reply and Sans swiveled his head to hear a bit better. But all he heard was the crunching noises of footsteps through the snow which softened as Papyrus left. Sans twitched, about to follow him.

“Golly. Now isn’t  _ this _ a surprise,” Flowey said suddenly. “I didn’t think karma was ever quite this funny… don’t you agree, Sans?”

Sans froze, his stem hunching over as his left eye glowed blue. At least, even as a flower, he still had his blue magic. “…huh. so you were aware i was listening.”

“You’re not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?” Flowey giggled. “You can feel my roots, can’t you? I can feel yours, too. Why don’t you come on out? I’m so excited to finally see another flower like myself.”

Sans shifted through the snow, not bothering to go underground and just plowing through the snow instead. The yellow flower was sitting in the center of the clearing, a leer on his face. “Oh, now this is just rich. Oh man, that flower just fits you perfectly, Sans, hee hee hee. Wait, my bad. You’re not Sans anymore, are you? Sans was killed by Chara.” The flower’s eyes turned black, an elongated malicious grin creeping over his face. “So? What bad pun did you come up with for a name, anyways?”

“like you’re one to talk, buddy,” Sans grunted, looming over the smaller flower. Echo flowers were generally quite tall, so he found himself enjoying a lofty height over the yellow flower. He was at least five or six times taller, and Flowey’s smile curled downwards as he peered up at Sans. “i mean, you named yourself flowey. real creative.”

“At least I’m not stuck as an echo flower, doomed to repeat the same stupid mistakes over and over again!” Snapped Flowey, eyes narrowing as he tilted his head up to glower at Sans. “Besides, you should behave yourself. After all, you don’t have anyone else to talk to anymore, do you? Or are you going to force your problems onto your brother, same as always? You can try,” Flowey laughed. “You can definitely try all you want and beg for your loved ones to help save you from this numbing hell, but guess what, Sans?”

Sans narrowed his eyes and Flowey smiled, flashing a fanged mouth. “This is a nightmare, and you’re never going to wake up. You’re just like me now. Empty. I bet you can’t feel anything other than surface emotions now, too! Fear. Anger. Amusement. Nothing substantial. Nothing like happiness or joy ever again. But, oh wait, you never really experienced those either, did you?”

Sans shifted, turning his head away from Flowey. “i don’t have to listen to this, buddy. go find someone else to pester. it seems to me like you’re trying to get under my skin, but, uh, i’ve never really had skin before so tough luck with that.”

“Still joking as always, huh?” Flowey muttered. “Why are you so stubborn about this? It’s not like you’re above me or anything. You were turned into a flower the exact same way I was.”

“actually i am above you. lucky i wasn’t stuck as a tiny yellow flower, i guess.”

Flowey sniffed, and rose up above Sans using his roots and vines. “You  _ aren’t _ ,” the flower hissed. “...You know what, fine. Go run crying to Papyrus then. Tell him what happened to you. It won’t help. When you’re willing to shut up for once and listen to me, when you’re so tired and broken and realize there’s nothing you can possibly do to save your miserable self, then  _ maybe _ I’ll listen.”

Flowey vanished into the earth, leaving Sans alone in the clearing. Realizing how cold and frigid his strange new body felt, Sans grunted and also dove underground, swiftly traveling back to town.

He hesitantly poked his head above ground, swiveling his head in both directions before he realized he was besides the innkeeper’s place. A few monsters were strolling by, oblivious to Sans’ presence, until the yellow Monster Kid came racing by. His foot slid across a patch of ice and the kid let out an undignified squawk as he crashed face-first into the snow. He ended up sliding to a stop inches away from Sans’ own face. The kid’s eyes flickered open.

Sans and the Monster Kid stiffened, staring at each other.

Quickly, Sans yanked his head back underground, reaching out with his roots and shoving himself through the dirt as fast as he could. He could feel the vibrations of someone shouting above him. He didn’t stop and look up again, following his instincts as he traveled to the spot located underneath his and Papyrus’ house.

Sans paused again, his cold leaves made him want to go somewhere warm, but the fear of disappointing Papyrus held him back. Besides, how was Sans going to get into the house, anyways? He had no key. No hands either, now that he thought about it. And the house wasn’t made so that a flower could just pop in through the floor.

Sans could use his shortcuts, but the issue of how a flower would survive in the house remained. Or, at least, Sans should still have shortcuts. All of his other magic seemed fine. But Sans doubted he would have an easy time moving without any dirt underneath him, and he still wasn’t sure if he would die from exposure staying outside all night.

After debating with himself for a solid half an hour, Sans decided to go with an easier option. Digging his way upwards, Sans popped out of the ground and shook himself as dirt fell off of his petals. Sans wearily surveyed the small, badly lit shed room and sighed in relief to find it vacant.

The shed had dirt showing where the floorboards had rotted away and was warm; problem solved. And since Papyrus was with Undyne, Sans had no cause to worry.

For now, all he really wanted to do was sleep.

Turned out that echo flowers could at least do that. 

 


	3. Forget-Me-Nots and Spaghetti

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited again by FlightlessTree.

The door swung open and Sans jerked awake, stiffening as he turned and caught sight of a very confused Papyrus.

His brother was holding a bowl of water, snow falling onto his shoulders and bewilderment flickering across his face. "WHO LEFT A FLOWER IN HERE?" He asked curiously. "DON'T THEY KNOW ANY BETTER? ECHO FLOWERS HATE THE COLD, THEY CAN'T SURVIVE OUTSIDE OF WATERFALL CAVES!"

Sans was turned so Papyrus couldn't quite see his face yet, and Sans trembled as his flight instinct screamed at him.

No. Papyrus could do… something. Actually, Sans wasn't sure what he was imagining his brother could do. Sans was still kind of expecting that brat to reset any second now and this little dilemma would be washed away like it had never happened. But if that were to be, then maybe it wouldn't hurt to try and ask Papyrus for help. Emotionally, at least, Papyrus had always been a stabilizer for Sans.

Sans steadied his resolve and turned fully, meeting his brother's eyes at last with a grin. Taller than most echo flowers, Papyrus still towered head and shoulders above Sans. "uh… hey, papyrus. flower you doing today?" Sans asked awkwardly, expecting his brother to begin sobbing at any moment. Papyrus had always been a crybaby, after all.

Papyrus' reaction did not go as planned.

"ANOTHER TALKING FLOWER?" He asked, brow furrowed as his mouth twitched upwards a moment before settling back into a concerned frown. "…AND ONE THAT TELLS PUNS. ARE YOU A FRIEND OF FLOWEY'S, BY ANY CHANCE? NOT TO BE RUDE, BUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOESN'T… I DON'T LIKE PUNS."

A flicker of unhappiness flashed across Papyrus' face again, and Sans froze, mind whirling. He assumed his identity would've been obvious. They were brothers; surely this form hadn't made Sans _that_ unrecognizable.

"uh…papyrus? paps?" Sans leaned forwards, hopefully peering up at his brother. "you- you can recognize me, can't you? i mean- well, uh, i might look a bit strange now but..."

Papyrus rubbed his chin, eyes narrowing as he examined Sans from petal tip to stem. "I AM SORRY, ECHO FLOWER, BUT I AM POSITIVE I'VE NEVER MET ANOTHER TALKING FLOWER BEFORE! MAYBE YOU HAVE ME MISTAKEN FOR ANOTHER SKELETON!"

"i… i see." A heavy feeling settled over Sans. He swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. The small spark of hope extinguished itself, and Sans cursed his naïve thinking once again. Stupid. Stupid, stupid Sans, thinking this was a good idea. What was he thinking, that his brother had all of answers and could just fix everything? No. Papyrus didn't need to be pulled into this.

"WHAT DO YOU NEED? ARE YOU IN TROUBLE?" Papyrus knelt down in front of Sans, eyes softening as he looked at the dark tips of Sans' leaves. He looked back up as he noticed Sans' nervous expression as he shied away from his brother's touch. "I CAN HELP GET YOU BACK TO WATERFALL, IF THAT'S THE PROBLEM! REST ASSURED, YOU CAN COUNT ON THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO HELP ONE IN NEED!"

"i'm _fine_." Sans' voice came out rougher than intended. Upon seeing Papyrus flinch at his harsh tone, Sans quickly backpedaled. "i mean- i can go back on my own."

"BUT IT'S SNOWING OUTSIDE," Papyrus objected, brow still furrowed. "I KNOW! HOW ABOUT YOU COME STAY IN MY HOUSE UNTIL THIS STORM IS OVER?"

"uh, i dunno, i'm a pretty busy flower." Sans said, but his brother's pleading gaze was compelling. If it made Papyrus distressed for a strange flower to be going home in the snow, then Sans would just alleviate that worry at least before he left. Sans sighed, grinning wryly up at Papyrus. "okay, maybe for a little bit."

"WOWIE, GREAT!" Papyrus exclaimed. "I HAVEN'T HAD ANYONE TO TALK TO OR COOK FOR IN A GOOD WHILE! WAIT HERE!"

The skeleton darted back outside, snow blowing into the shed. Sans stared after him, wondering what he was getting himself into. This might be a bad idea. Or maybe it didn't matter; it would all reset anyway, right?

Sans closed his eyes, still tired. His HP had been depleting by the cold earlier; the only thing that kept him from dying out there was all the extra HP accumulated by his frequent sleeping. He hadn't completely replenished it from that last nap, but he still had enough left so he wouldn't die from one hit or something stupid like that. He was lucky that he had restored HP after first waking up even after the human's attack.

His main goal for the time being was to get to his journal. The kid would _hopefully_ return any day now, so Sans had to record what had happened before any resets. Maybe he could use his leaves to grip the pen with.

Just as Sans was starting to wonder where his brother was, Papyrus raced back, slamming a heavy bowl before him. Sans peered at it, confused, when he noticed it was the largest bowl Papyrus owned, filled with fresh dirt. Sans could hear Papyrus quietly panting, out of breath.

"did you just dig this stuff up?" Sans asked.

Papyrus beamed. "THAT IS CORRECT, MY FLOWER FRIEND! IT SHOULD BE A COMFORTABLE RESTING PLACE FOR A FEW HOURS, RIGHT?"

Sans' gaze returned to the pasta bowl. He swallowed down the fear of being trapped in a small pot, unable to dodge whatever might be thrown at him. "yup. looks like a first class hotel," he said. He pulled up his roots, groping for the edges of the bowl as Papyrus watched curiously, and then yanked himself inside. It nearly fell over; Sans swayed before he jerked his head up and regained his balance.

Papyrus reached for the bowl, struggling a bit to pick it up. Sans pressed his stem down into the dirt as the ground fell away from under him. His gaze returned thoughtfully to Papyrus' face, which was now level with Sans'.

His brother seemed to sense Sans' wariness and gave him a grin. He expertly kicked the door open and then kicked it shut behind them as he walked to the house next door, the plant's heavy weight only impeding him a little. Sans, deciding to respect Papyrus' wishes (the skeleton thought he was dead for the love of god- reminding him of that with flower puns seemed counter productive) kept quiet, unsure of what kind of small talk he could make.

"SO, YOU NEVER SAID IF YOU KNEW FLOWEY OR NOT," Papyrus said cheerfully, setting Sans on the floor in front of the sofa so they could talk face-to-face. "DID HE TELL YOU TO COME MEET ME?"

"uh… welp, we're… acquaintances, but not really…" Sans trailed off, blinking as he noticed Papyrus' curious expression. "erm, is something wrong?"

"NO, NO, IT'S JUST THE WAY YOU TALK KIND OF… NO, NEVERMIND. MY IMAGINATION," Papyrus quickly cut himself off, and rushed into the next topic. "SO, THEN, DO YOU HAVE A NAME?"

"of course i do."

"WHAT IS IT?"

"it's- uh." Sans paused, wondering if a flower pun for a name would be pushing it. Probably.

Papyrus seemed to take his silence for something else, though. "YOU DON'T HAVE A NAME YET, DO YOU?" He asked innocently. "DON'T WORRY, LITTLE FLOWER! BECAUSE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN GIVE YOU A GREAT NAME! WAIT HERE!"

Sans only had time to blink and swivel his head to follow the white and red blur as Papyrus raced up the stairs and diving into his room. "where else could i go?" Sans called after him, amused.

"HERE IT IS!" Papyrus bounded back down the stairs, a book clutched in his hands. Sans peered at the cover and saw _Botanical Explorations_ written across the top; he remembered once finding that book in the dumps and giving it to Papyrus.

Papyrus eagerly flipped through the pages, eyes scanning the different pictures of flowers. Once in a while, he would pause, look up at Sans, and either shake his head or nod thoughtfully. "AHA! I FOUND IT!" Papyrus shoved the book towards Sans, who in turn leaned in to get a better look at the open page. "I ALWAYS THOUGHT ECHO FLOWERS LOOK LIKE THE SURFACE'S FORGET-ME-NOTS. MAYBE WE CAN MAKE A NAME SIMILAR TO THAT FLOWER!"

Sans felt his smile slip and eyes narrow as he looked away, even as Papyrus kept talking. "YOU COULD BE FORGET-ME FOR SHORT, OR FORGETFUL, OR-"

"please, stop." Sans interjected, his eyes going pitch black. "i- i don't like those names."

 _don't forget._ The words scratched on a small drawing in Sans' lab made this scene seem like a cruel iteration, some joke played on Sans that wasn't very funny. Sans was _supposed_ to be forgotten for this run. He had decided that. He would just hang on until the human- Chara, as Flowey called them- came back and fixed this mess.

He didn't want his brother telling him to not forget each time they spoke, even as Papyrus had no idea who Sans was.

Sans wanted to forget all of this. He wanted, for the first time he could remember, to forget this timeline. To have everything reset. To go back to the fear of each reset instead of the fear that the reset wouldn't come soon enough.

"OH." Papyrus sounded dejected. Sans' pupil flicked to the side as he examined Papyrus from the corner of his eye. "WE CAN KEEP LOOKING THEN!" Papyrus continued, his cheery tone clearly forced.

Sans sighed, forcing himself to smile up at the skeleton. "i'm sorry, papyrus. i just need some time alone, okay? we can look together again later."

"HMMM. ALRIGHT… ARE YOU SURE?" Papyrus asked, furrowing his brow.

"yup. it's a lot nicer in here than outside, after all. that's thanks to you."

"NYEHEHE, DON'T MENTION IT!" Papyrus replied, instantly feeling better. "WELL, THERE'S NOT MUCH TIME UNTIL NIGHT FALLS, BUT IT'S STILL SNOWING. DO YOU WANT TO STAY THE NIGHT?"

 _don't be an idiot, sans, you should leave paps alone_ , Sans thought, but thanks to his brother's hopeful gaze, Sans couldn't help but shake his head for the second time that day and grin wryly. "fine. you win, br- papyrus." Sans froze, but the skeleton didn't seem to notice, eagerly racing to the kitchen after shouting something about dinner.

The fact that Papyrus was so energetic didn't hide from Sans that it was just one of his brother's coping mechanisms. He imagined Papyrus was trying to keep busy right now. Sans didn't blame him. He himself wanted to go to sleep and take his mind off of the issue at hand. Or at leaf. Whatever.

"DO FLOWERS EAT SPAGHETTI?" Papyrus yelled, coming back from the kitchen in an apron and chef hat. He picked Sans up in his bowl and moved him to the center of the kitchen, allowing Sans to watch him work. Papyrus wasn't bothered that his favorite bowl was filled with dirt. He found a slightly smaller, dented one from beneath the towering sink and quickly rinsed it.

"i dunno, i've never tried eating it before," Sans said doubtfully, examining his stem. Well, as a skeleton the paradox of eating food and getting fat had never stopped him before. "but i'm sure whatever you cook is delicious, so it might be _pasta_ ble."

Papyrus paused for a split second, and then continued cooking.

Sans, realizing his mistake, also stiffened, stem hunching down. "uh. sorry. my bad, i forgot you don't like…"

"IT'S FINE." Papyrus brushed it off, his cheerful demeanor persisting. "DO YOU LIKE PUNS A LOT, THEN?"

"yeah. i love 'em," Sans murmured. Papyrus scoffed.

"HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO LOVE PUNS?" He asked, and Sans snickered.

"well. for starters, they're a _pun_ tastic way to cheer people up. how is it that you _don't_ like puns?"

Papyrus turned, eyeing the echo flower a moment before he scratched his head. "IT'S NOT THAT I DON'T LIKE THEM. I ACTUALLY REALLY LIKED THE PUNS MY BROTHER USED TO TELL ME," he admitted. "ALTHOUGH I WOULD NEVER HAVE TOLD HIM THAT. BUT HE… LEFT A FEW MONTHS AGO."

"oh." Sans shifted, lifting his stem to meet Papyrus' height. "well, i'm sure that he knew you liked 'em, if he told you a lot of puns."

"MAYBE," Papyrus said quietly. "THE DAY HE LEFT, WE ALSO GOT INTO AN ARGUMENT. A REALLY SMALL ONE, BUT HE LET ME WIN ANYWAYS. AND IT WAS OVER STUPID PUZZLES! OF ALL THE THINGS IT COULD'VE BEEN…" Papyrus sniffed and Sans, regretting his immobility, widened his eyes and leaned forward.

"hey, buddy, it's okay. i'm sure you didn't mean anything by that. how about we talk about something else, then, okay? uh, what kind of cooking do you like it do?"

Papyrus took a moment to wipe his eyes with his wrist, and then returned to furiously stirring the pasta. "WELL, I TAKE COOKING LESSONS FROM MY FRIEND- UNDYNE, MAYBE YOU'VE SEEN HER IN WATERFALL?- ON TOP OF SPARRING LESSONS. SHE'S TEACHING ME HOW TO COOK SPAGHETTI! I WASN'T VERY GOOD IN THE BEGINNING, BUT I'M GETTING A LOT BETTER, EVERYONE SAYS SO!"

The two ended up talking late into the night; Sans was careful to steer the topics of conversation far away from himself. Eventually the two decided to call it a night and get to bed.

Sans was placed next to the couch where he could peer out the window or reach the remote, and Papyrus turned to make his way upstairs.

"HEY, ERM, ECHO FLOWER?"

"what is it papyrus?"

"THANKS FOR STAYING. I KNOW YOU WANTED TO GO HOME, BUT… IT REALLY HELPS THAT SOMEONE ELSE IS HERE. SO, IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS TONIGHT, JUST GIVE A YELL. I'LL COME RUNNING FASTER THAN YOU CAN SAY SPAGHETTI!"

"heh. thanks, papyrus."

The lights flicked off, and Sans listened as his brother's door closed. Minutes ticked by. Sans sighed, studying the pot underneath him. He turned to look back towards Papyrus' door and quietly murmured, "good night bro," before he leaned against the couch and closed his eyes, falling back into a restless sleep.

A shadow shifted outside the window, and a yellow flower disappeared back into the snow.


	4. Worries and Journal Entries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by FlightlessTree again~

The snow had stopped falling by morning. Sans watched the lights flicker on throughout the town, their soft electric light slowly brightening the dark room.

It was unthinkable that Sans was awake at this time, but he had nothing better to do. Worries and nightmares chased him even when asleep, his mind replaying his death over and over again in whispered mockery.

Some final resort Sans had been. Killed by a cheap trick; that was all he amounted to. Somehow, Sans wasn’t as surprised at his failure as he would have hoped. Sans could faintly recall the kid dodging each of his attacks with ease, a bright white smile bobbing through the dim caves.

The kid must have practiced.

Sans groaned, wishing he had access to the fridge. He didn’t know if Papyrus still kept ketchup around, but at this point even three-month-old ketchup would be acceptable.

A door upstairs swung open, and Sans’ white pupils snapped upwards as he traced his brother’s movements. Papyrus stretched with a yawn and shambled downstairs, surprisingly tired for the chipper skeleton’s usual morning bird self.

Papyrus reached the living room and froze at the sight of Sans, rubbing his eyes and blinking once. “OH! YOU’RE STILL HERE!” He said in puzzled delight.

“where did ya think i’d do? petal my way out of here?” Sans asked, quirking an eyebrow. “i don’t own a bike.”

Papyrus scratched his head, looking sheepish. “NO, NO, I JUST. I’D GOTTEN USED TO HAVING THE HOUSE EMPTY SO I KIND OF FORGOT YOU WERE…”

“it’s fine, buddy. happens to all of us,” Sans told him. He returned his gaze to the window; a few monsters were stepping outside and getting started with their day. “did you sleep well?”

“YES! OF COURSE I DID!” Papyrus assured him, quickly walking past Sans to busy himself in the kitchen.

That was odd. It wasn’t like Papyrus to run from a topic. Sans watched his brother’s back as he washed last night’s dishes and sighed, understanding all too well what was happening. “you… you don’t have to do that.”

“DO WHAT? CLEANING? IT’S NO TROUBLE! I LIKE DOING IT!” Papyrus replied, puzzled.

“no, not that…look,” Sans looked away. “you don’t have to lie to me, okay? if you don’t feel well or whatever, then it’s fine to tell me. you don’t have to pretend; contrary to my appearance, i promise not to go repeating whatever ya tell me to other people.”

“O-OH. …IS IT THAT OBVIOUS?”

“yup.”

“I SEE.”

The two returned to silence. Finally Papyrus spoke, carefully, hesitantly, testing each word he said.

“I DIDN’T. DIDN’T SLEEP WELL.” Papyrus’ voice wavered for a moment. He set the dishes down with a clatter, walking back to the sofa and sitting next to Sans. “I SLEPT PRETTY HORRIBLY, ACTUALLY.”

“you work as a sentry, right? i’m sure your boss would understand if ya slacked for one day and just took a nap,” Sans said quietly, reaching out one of his leaves. It barely brushed against Papyrus’ arm.

“NO! I CAN’T WORRY HER ANYMORE THAN I ALREADY HAVE!” Papyrus argued, his hands tightening as he clutched the edge of his nightshirt. His voice cracked once more, and Papyrus kept shaking his head furiously from side to side.  “IT’S FINE. I HAVE ENOUGH HP THAT NOT SLEEPING ISN’T THAT DRASTIC OF AN ISSUE FOR ME. I DON’T NEED TO STOCK UP ON ANY EXTRA. MY SPAGHETTI IS ENOUGH TO KEEP ME GOING!”

Sans frowned, studying Papyrus. “that’s not healthy. i’m sure skeletons can go without sleep just fine physically, but mentally? it’s a bad idea.”

“I’M FINE,” Papyrus protested again. “EVEN ON A NORMAL DAY I ONLY REST FOR ABOUT FOUR HOURS. CUTTING THAT DOWN TO ONE OR TWO ISN’T THAT BAD.”

Sans’ frown deepened. He sighed. “you don’t sound fine, papyrus.”

Papyrus didn’t reply, instead staring fixedly down at his hands. Then he shrugged. “I’M SURE I’LL BE BETTER IN A LITTLE BIT. THE GREAT PAPYRUS ALWAYS STANDS BACK UP, AFTER ALL, NYE-HEH. HEH…”

The awkwardness of the situation persisted; Sans’ gaze returned to the window.

“welp. it’s stopped snowing outside, and it’s been fun, but would you mind setting me down outside? i think i need to get going,” Sans finally spoke.

“SO SOON?”

“sorry. i have to go.”

“W-WELL THEN, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL SEE YOU OFF SAFELY!” Papyrus said, reaching for the bowl. Sans watched his brother pick him up and take him outside, finally setting the bowl down in the snow. “IS THAT GOOD?”

“yup. perfect.” Sans nodded and waved a leaf at Papyrus. “thanks, paps.”

“NO PROBLEM! IT WAS MY PLEASURE!” Papyrus said. He frowned suddenly, staring at Sans unhappily. “BUT… I NEVER THOUGHT OF A NAME FOR YOU LIKE I PROMISED.”

“nah, i thought of a good one.”

“OH! WHAT IS IT, THEN?”

“well, since you saved me and really uh, inspired the whole name thing, i thought i’d name myself petalton. like, uh, a skeleton but flower-wise.”

Papyrus’ face went blank for a split second, and then he blanched, covering his face with one hand. “OH MY GOD. YOU- YOU- YOU’RE JUST AS BAD AS MY BROTHER WAS!” For once, sadness didn’t shadow the word  _ brother, _ and Sans laughed softly.

“thanks for the compliment.”

Papyrus scowled even as his mouth curled into a smile, but this time he didn’t stop it. “WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN?”

“uh,” Sans said, fumbling with his words. Originally he had planned to call it over, but Papyrus had  _ smiled _ again. And he clearly still wasn’t over Sans enough to live completely on his own yet. Maybe Sans could still do something for his brother after all. A feeling Sans couldn’t place filled him, a cold feeling that didn’t reflect the situation at all, but Sans ignored it. “y-yup. i’ll be around, buddy.”

“GREAT! WOWIE, I CAN’T WAIT TO TELL UNDYNE THERE ARE TALKING ECHO FLOWERS! SEE YOU AROUND P-PETALTON!” Papyrus stumbled over Sans’ fake name, then he waved and went back into the house.

Sans waited a moment and then took a shortcut, bowl and all, to his lab.

.

_ journal entry #437 _

_ if you’re reading this, then thank god the kid reset. _

_ once more, i think i’ll reiterate what i wrote in #436, the last time around this happened: kill the human on sight. it doesn’t matter if they’re being kind and loving to monsters or not; they are dangerous. _

_ papyrus is fine this run… mostly. emotionally, i’m concerned about ‘em. _

_ currently unknown causes have resulted in resurrection after death; the little brat managed to kill me early on the last run. i was fooled by an innocent act and stabbed near waterfall’s sentry station. _

_ not sure why, but somehow, i woke up as an echo flower similar to the entity called “flowey.” _

_ the kid… i think the human left the underground. if this affects the resets or not has yet to be seen. _

_ chances of reversing my strange condition are looking pretty bleak, anyways. i’m not sure what to do with myself for once, so i guess sleeping will have to do. at least i don’t have work anymore. _

_ anyways. this has been a petaltasticly weird run, and i’m going to go looking for ketchup and try and figure out how you can prevent this from happening. good luck, buddy. _

.

Next, Sans found Undyne wondering Waterfall Caves.

Sans had been poking his head up every so often to scan the perimeter for the tall woman, relieved to once again be in the welcome climate of Waterfall Caves. Here, he blended in much better; he merely closed his eyes if a monster happened to wander too close for Sans’ comfort.

After an hour of fruitless searching, however, Sans sighed. Maybe the guardswoman wasn’t around today. Just his luck.

He turned to leave, and the water beside him flickered, his reflection staring back up at him. Sans jerked, startled, before staring back down at it. He was a fairly nondescript echo flower, he realized, but his smile and eyes looked similar to his old body’s. He was also a slightly lighter shade of blue, although it was nearly unnoticeable unless under close inspection. Two leaves, darker than his petals, sprouted from near the base of his stem.

Sans’ eyes narrowed, and he resisted the childish urge to knock something into the water to scatter his reflection into hundreds of ripples. He sat there, another wave of tired apathy washing over him, when heavy footsteps distracted him.

Undyne, clad in shiny armor and tramping across the Caves, was passing by. She seemed preoccupied with her thoughts, but Sans paid it no mind. This was more important.

“hey, you’re head of the royal guard right?” Sans piped up as she passed. Undyne halted, her visor tilting as she searched her surroundings, hand raising as if she was considering summoning a spear. Upon seeing no one but the few echo flowers, Undyne sighed.

“Is one of the kids playing a prank on me with the echo flowers again?” She groused, but there was no harsh bite to her tone. “Don’t they have anything better to do?”

“nah, it’s not a prank. i promise, from my own  _ tulips _ ,” Sans commented, popping up in front of Undyne.

Instantly she jumped backwards, skidding away and summoning blue spears which immediately locked onto his location.

Sans raised his leaves, grinning up at Undyne. “woah, no need for that. just here to talk, that’s all.”

Undyne’s eye narrowed, and she allowed her grip on the spear to relax some although it remained in her hands, glowing a pale blue hue. “What the hell?” Undyne opened her mouth once, and then shut it, studying Sans for a long moment. “Since when could Echo Flowers talk? Or move?” She finally asked.

“eh, it’s not important.” Sans moved forward, roots tugging him easily through the soil. Undyne didn’t move, just shifted her grip on the spear and eyed him warily. “just wanted to have a chat about one of your guards.”

“One of my guards? Who?”

Sans grinned, pleased to be getting his way. “papyrus. the tall skeleton, with the red scarf? he’s in snowdin-“

“Yes, yes, I know who Papyrus is,” interjected Undyne. “What about him?”

“i uh, bumped into him yesterday.” Sans said. “he’s not doing so hot. partially because he lives in Snowdin, but also… he told me he isn’t sleeping. like, at all. and if i’m not mistaken, that’s pretty bad for even skeletons to do, right?”

Undyne jerked, startled. “Wha- he… he told you this?”

“yup.”

Undyne’s spear vanished with a flare of light, and she stalked past Sans as she started pacing. “That idiot! He said he was doing fine two days ago, what in the world is he thinking?! No wonder his attacks seem weaker even when he begged me to make him stronger again two months ago!”

Sans watched, a small prick of relief flooding into his system. The apathetic feeling finally withdrew a little bit. “so you’ll sort this out? do something ‘bout it?”

“Of course!” Undyne snapped. “That idiotic little… if he wasn’t alright he should have just told me!”

“he doesn’t seem like the type to want to burden others,” Sans said quietly. “…welp. that’s all i had to say, so see ya around.”

“Wait! Who are you? Why did you tell me this?” Undyne called, but Sans had already vanished back into the soil as if he had been a mirage the entire time.

From the shadows, he watched as Undyne looked around in frustration before storming off towards Snowdin. He sighed, relieved. He was sure Undyne at least could take care of Papyrus now that she knew he needed the help.

The next step, Sans supposed, was to gather information. Even when the world reset, this would all be for naught if this pattern repeated. Better figure out what happened now and give himself a heads up so he could prevent it in another time.

Sans turned and dove underground again, swiftly tunneling back towards the very spot where he woke up two days ago. 

 


	5. Ketchup and Threats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by FlightlessTree.

Sans studied the sentry station, leaning over to examine the supply of ketchup he used to store there. He slipped open the cabinet doors, and sighed as he saw the empty space.

"paps, while i appreciate the sentiment of cleaning up after my messes, this time i really wish you hadn't," Sans grumbled, letting the door fall shut.

He lifted his head again to scan the surroundings, slipping over to the spot where he had first woken up. This echo flower had been here before Sans had died, hadn't it? Was there something in the soil or water then?

Sans froze, eyes widening. That could be it. A plant absorbs soil and water to grow, and when a monster dies they also turn into dust, which could easily get mixed in. Sans drew in a sharp breath. Flowey had mentioned he turned into a flower the same way. Perhaps he had also died near a flower patch.

Of course, this drew up another question. Yellow flowers were only present in a few scant places in the Underground, most near the king's home, so the flower must have been someone important…

Footsteps interrupted Sans' thoughts. He turned to see someone's shadow creeping over the walls towards him. They could probably see him at a distance already, so it was too late to leave; Sans closed his eyes and held himself erect, not daring to move as he heard the footsteps getting closer.

Whoever it was, they stopped just in front of Sans.

Sans didn't look, remaining frozen as he waited for whoever it was to move on. A hand brushed against his leaves, but Sans stayed silent, wondering who it was.

It wasn't Undyne; she made clanking noises from her armor wherever she went, as stealth wasn't her forte. Papyrus was also the least stealthy person Sans knew, so that ruled out those two. And yet no one else should be suspicious of Sans.

"I-It's back?" A familiar voice muttered, the hand withdrawing. "Did s-someone replant it here? No, the g-ground doesn't show any signs of d-digging…" Alphys' voice trailed off, pausing for a moment. "I should b-bring it back to the lab. M-maybe it mutated since I planted it back here. Undyne can help-"

"what did you just say?" Sans asked, opening his eyes to gaze openly at the scientist. Alphys immediately paled, backing up as Sans stared down at her.

"O-Oh my god?" She whispered. "Y-You... You're alive?!"

"flowers can be classified as living, but i'm not really." Sans replied without missing a beat. "you could consider me dead. and, uh, from what i just heard you might know something about that."

Alphys fidgeted and fumbled with her glasses, trying to wipe them clean and nearly dropping them. "I- I… I mean, you don't… ok, wow. Um. how long have you been like…?"

"three days." Sans said. "and i'd really like to know how to undo whatever it is you did to me, so how about you help a pal out and tell me what exactly you did here?"

"Oh wow. Oh g-gosh," Alphys squeaked, peering up at Sans' face. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize that this would happen! I didn't mean anything by it, I was just… I'm sorry." She mumbled, backing away faster.

Sans watched, realizing from the way her eyes nervously flickered about her indicated she was about to bolt.

"I'm sorry, just- just wait here, okay? I'll get someone who can… uh?!"

Sans' roots curled around Alphys' ankles and she tripped, falling backwards and shaking as Sans scooted up to stare face-to-face.

"i don't need help, alphys. i just want to know what _you did to me._ "

"I-I-I…" Alphys stammered, face pallid and eyes wide. "P-Please d-don't…"

Sans studied her for a moment, a warning ringing quietly in the back of his mind.

Something here was wrong.

What was he doing exactly? Sans looked down at Alphys, suddenly aware that she was shaking and crying. He blinked and released her, abruptly realizing he pushed it too far. "oh. sorry alph. i'm not going to hurt you," he said gently. "that situation grew out of hand a little too quickly, huh?" Sans offered, backing away to give her space. "or should i say leaf? ..heh."

Alphys scrambled to her feet and hurriedly wiped her glasses on her shirt, fingers still shaking. "L-look I… I know you're confused and scared, and t-that's okay! I can h-help you adjust to being alive! Um, if you w-want? I know it must be a shock for you to h-have suddenly gained consciousness for the first time, but b-being alive is really nice! T-There's anime and… and…" Alphys stammered, trying to give off an air of bravado. She was sweating, Sans noticed, but to her credit she didn't run away.

Sans stared at her for a moment, confused, and then blinked. "gained consciousness? you mean before this i was a normal echo flower? this wasn't to…?"

"Y-Yes! You were normal! I just… Well, maybe I knew you might change somehow, that was the point, but… but not like this!" Alphys agreed, perking up as she noticed Sans' softening expression.

"...and this wasn't your first time trying this, was it?"

Alphys froze, smile slipping away as fast as it had come. "W-Well. No."

Sans sighed. "welp. hate to break it to ya, doc, but you forgot one thing here. the other flower and i apparently lack souls of any kind. and i'm not too keen on what that means for me."

Alphys groaned as she covered her mouth with one hand. "Oh no."

"yup."

"I-I… I'm so sorry?! I can't believe… that's precisely why I chose flowers to inject determination into since monster souls couldn't handle it but I didn't expect…"

Sans waited a moment as she murmured to herself before he turned to leave. Determination, huh? It offered no clues to fixing this, as Alphys was definitely no all-knowing creature that could save Sans, just one clumsy scientist messing with the plant that happened to absorb some of his dust.

Well, if anything, Sans could just write to himself to have a little chat with the scientist ahead of time and then he could go find some dark corner to go sleep for a long, long time. The reset would come; it always did.

Always.

"W-Wait!" Alphys called as Sans started to dive back underground. Sans hesitated, just for a second.

"yes?"

"D-Don't go," Alphys begged. "Come with me…please?"

Sans turned and gave the best impression of a shrug he could manage. "sorry, buddy. not interested. you can't give me what i want, so there's not really any point to going with ya, is there?"

He left before he heard a reply. Something in Sans knew what he was doing wasn't very good; brushing people off, bottling his problems away, etcetera and etcetera. Oh well. This wasn't anything new for Sans.

.

Sans took a shortcut which instantly placed him just outside of his house. (And damn it, it was still _his_ \- his and Papyrus'- and being a flower didn't change that.) However, he realized too late that his pot was already gone, taken back inside by Papyrus. He needed one to take into his lab, so he would have to ask for it again.

Worse than the missing pot, however, was the yelling heard from inside the house; Undyne must have arrived. Something shattered inside, and Papyrus' voice stammered something in defense. The door slammed open, and Sans ducked back under the snow just in time. He popped up around the corner of house, far enough away to watch and still have the two monsters not notice him.

"UNDYNE PLEASE, I'M _FINE_ ," Papyrus protested, twisting in Undyne's grip. The Captain of the Royal Guard had her arm firmly slung around Papyrus' shoulders, a both friendly and protective gesture. It additionally, in this case, prevented the skeleton from making a run for it.

"No, you are _not_ fine!" She scolded him. "What the hell were you thinking, Papyrus? You know the risks for monsters that push themselves like this! What if you fell down because of this reckless behavior?!"

"I WOULDN'T." Papyrus croaked. "PLEASE, UNDYNE, I'M FINE- JUST LET ME GO TO WORK AND I'LL JUST-"

"No. You are coming to my house and we are having a cooking lesson and a sleepover, Papyrus, whether you like it or not." Undyne threatened, but she grinned at Papyrus while she said it, eye glinting. "I hope you're ready for the greatest sleepover of all time because you better prepare yourself."

"N-NYE," squeaked Papyrus. "ERM, UNDYNE I DON'T NEED-"

"Quiet, you little punk!" Undyne said as she led Papyrus towards her house. After a moment, she sighed, her voice softening. "…We're going to get through this together, OK Papyrus? I'm not going to let you do something stupid…"

Sans popped back up to where he had been just as their voices faded away in the distance. He watched as Papyrus' shoulders slumped, bowing his head towards Undyne as she rubbed his skull affectionately.

In another timeline, the sight would have made him happy.

Instead, Sans just felt the emptiness inside of him grow bit by bit. Sans sighed, turning away. Papyrus would be fine. He could at least count that as a success.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and dove back underground, determined to go find a pot in the trash piles back in the Waterfall caves instead.

.

"nope," Sans noted as he noticed the large chip on the bottom of the pot. "not this one either."

He surveyed the huge mounds and grunted, deciding to go take a nap. He could deal with this mess later. His luck wasn't so bad that it'd reset today, anyways. (Or at least… he really hoped not.)

"Well, well. You don't look so good now do you, friend?" An unwanted but not entirely unexpected voice piped up from behind him.

"why don't you make like a dandelion and scatter?" Sans shot back, not bothering to turn around. "sheesh, you're just like a weed. popping up wherever i don't want you."

Flowey moved in front of Sans and the two eyed each other, hostile grins pasted on both faces.

"I noticed you didn't say anything to Papyrus," crooned Flowey after a beat. "Why ever not? I thought I'd get a good laugh out of seeing him fall apart over what happened to you."

Sans' eyes narrowed. "i think you've got the wrong idea about this- i'm not your entertainment or something, buddy. neither, might i add, is my brother."

"Oh, I beg to differ," Flowey giggled. "But you can think whatever you like. So? How is it, Sans? You seemed really eager to attack silly little Alphys for her meddling earlier! Boy, was I surprised at how quickly you're changing. Too bad you stopped before she had an unfortunate little… _accident_." Flowey winked at Sans, and the echo flower gritted his teeth as his shadow fell over the smaller flower.

"'how was it that that when i wanted to feel happy i was just so _empty_ but right now i'm so angry?' I bet you're thinking that right now, huh?" Flowey continued, smile widening. "Well, don't worry! You're good friend Flowey will help you get the gist of this conundrum!"

"i don't know what you're talking about," Sans growled, but Flowey openly gloated, the smug expression not leaving his face.

"No, of course you don't," laughed the yellow flower. "See, _Petalton_ , when I first woke up, I was oh so very scared and afraid, too! And, later, very very angry. Angry enough to hurt a lot of monsters! Your mind is just playing tricks on you, see? Even now, I remember how feelings felt and I can pretend to have them- just like what you're doing right now! You think you should be mad at me, you think you need to hate me, and so of course you do! But over time, that memory, like others, will fade. It'll become dimmer. And then, all that's left is emptiness."

Sans' fake grin finally vanished, a scowl taking its place. "buddy, if you're trying to tick me off, then i would suggest you leave right now before i am tempted to _make_ you."

"Hee hee hee. But I'm not, Petalton- aren't you listening? I don't have to do anything. Right now, the only enemy you have is yourself. I wonder- happiness and joy are the easiest to forget, you know. And when I was a monster, I had a lot of those! And you… well. I guess we both know a bit about that. So here's the question..."

Sans' eye lit up as it flared blue and yellow and his leaves shifted, readying for battle.

"...I wonder how much faster you'll turn into a true monster just like me?"

"all right, that's it, buddy." Said Sans finally, blue bones flaring into existence and swiping at Flowey, who dodged them just in time. "i've had enough of your chatter."

Flowey smirked up at Sans, although the expression shifted for one second as two gaster blasters sprang into existence on either side of Sans.

"Fine. Have fun, then… Sans." The flower sneered before vanishing back into the ground. Sans waited, holding the blasters in place for several long moments before he relaxed, his magic evaporating into air.

There was only silence left. Sans was once again left alone.

"…damn it," Sans muttered, his stem drooping. "that's it, even if it means going to grillby himself i am gonna get a good long drink after this."


	6. Broken Promises and Confrontations

 

Getting a drink did in fact mean Sans had to go to Grillby’s.

It wasn’t his fault that there seemed to be some kind of “ban all ketchup” trend going around, and Sans was getting a bit desperate at this point.

The awkward thing, Sans realized with a sinking feeling, was that _somebody_ had kind of died and forgotten to do something veryyyy important.

Pay his damn tab.

Grillby was probably going to kill him if he showed up now. That flame monster was very particular about money and order within his restaurant. Sans had always gotten away with various misconducts in the restaurant (ya get drunk and write your name on the table ONCE and all of a sudden you’re a bad guy), but nothing quite as bad as a stunt that now seemed like a very good excuse not to cough up the dough for his extensive bill.

And it wasn’t like flowers had money. Or pockets.

Ergh.

Sans shifted, looking around as a snowflake drifted down and landed on the middle of his face. He swiped it off with a leaf and moved, slithering through the snow around back. Surely a restaurant like Grillby’s had thrown away some ketchup recently. And maybe Sans could also find that bowl he needed while he was at it.

Sans spotted the two trashcans, both luckily overflowing with garbage. He curled his roots around one, yanking it down with a clatter and spilling garbage everywhere. Sans scanned the contents, not the least perturbed by the half eaten burgers and trash. There was some ketchup on a burger, he noted, but no bottle.

Sans sighed and moved on to knock over the second trashcan. The lid banged against the ground loudly and Sans froze at the ominous click of the a door handle.

The door abruptly swung open, and yellow light poured out over the blue flower’s figure.

The fire escape!

Sans’ eyes darted to the door where a certain monster stared him down, arms crossed. He knew Grillby well enough to recognize his “what do you think you’re doing?” expression. Sans glanced back towards the freshly toppled trashcan and his eyes widened.

There was a bottle of ketchup in the snow!

Before the fire monster could react, Sans dove, roots flicking out and yanking the bottle closer. He took a deep breath, preparing to plunge underground and finally enjoy his ketchup-

“Wait,” Grillby said softly, his voice crackling.

Sans glanced back, brow furrowing. “...what?”

“That bottle…” The flame monster pointed at it. “It’s empty.”

Sans lifted the bottle to his face with an incredulous blink. “...oh you’ve got to be kiddin’ me,” he grumbled. “ _really?_ ”

Grillby glanced over his shoulder and then back to Sans. “If you’re desperate enough to go through my trash for ketchup,” he said dryly. “How about you come in and eat at the bar like a civilized monster?”

“ah... i don’t... “ Sans hesitated, looking past Grillby into the restaurant longingly. He shook his head. “nah. i’m fine, just a flower looking for somethin’ dandy to get my day goin’.”

“...” Grillby vanished back inside, the door swinging shut behind him and leaving Sans in darkness. Realizing how late it was, he turned to leave when the door opened again.

“Here,” Grillby offered, kneeling in the snow. “You can have this one instead.”

Sans didn’t need a second offer upon seeing the red bottle in Grillby’s hand. He slipped through the snow to hesitantly hold his leaves out, keeping a wary distance from Grillby’s flames. The bartender pressed the bottle into Sans’ leaves, and the flower noticed that the seal on this bottle of ketchup wasn’t even broken yet. “erm?” Sans backed up a bit, studying Grillby. “this is a new bottle.”

“Yes.”

“...i’m a flower. i don’t have any money.”

“I wasn’t asking for any.”

Sans blinked and nodded. “...thanks,” he muttered, adjusting his grip on the bottle. He ripped the cap off of the bottle and took a sip. Just as good as he remembered.

Grillby was watching him still, leaning against the doorframe with his arms still crossed. “erm... i’m just ketchin’ up with this,” Sans joked. “been awhile since i’ve tasted ketchup.”

“You remind me of someone I knew,” Grillby said quietly.

“do i? huh. lots of people say that, but i had thought talking flowers were pretty unique.” Sans evaded the topic, suddenly captivated by the ketchup bottle. “...anyways. thanks again. for that.”

“Come again,” Grillby merely said, and Sans paused, turning to grin at him.

“...yeah.”

Sans vanished with the bottle in hand and Grillby turned to go close up for the night.

.

_journal entry #438_

_i bet after reading last entry, you’re thinking “flower ya doin’, other sans?”_

_well. frankly, i’m not doing very well._

_here’s what i got._

_apparently alphys used determination on an echo flower, creating this existence. i think my dust might’ve been used as nutrients for this plant and yeah. not a good combination._

_also not helpful for fixing the situation._

_i think the flower might be right about my soul also being gone; it’s getting harder to concentrate and interact with people. there might’ve been some… issues when talkin’ with alphys. i can’t remember getting angry so easily for a good long while._

_i don’t really want to keep updating this journal; it’s more like a nightmare than anything else that maybe it’d be best off forgetting this forever. i guess i’ll sleep, maybe watch over papyrus while i wait._

_see ya on the flip side._

.

Distant sounds of sparring greeted Sans as he returned to his lonely little sentry stand where it had all began. He looked around, tired, and wondered if it was a bad idea to be where Alphys might find him.

He supposed it didn’t really matter. It couldn’t get any worse than this; Sans didn’t really care what happened anymore. It would reset soon enough.

Sans closed his eyes, the soft whispers of echo flowers surrounding him and the distant clangs and shouts of Undyne and Papyrus soothing him. It sounded like a regular day here.

It was actually sort of peaceful.

Sans dozed off, returning to dreams of bright red eyes and childlike laughter.

.

“PETALTON!”

“I don’t think it’s that one either.”

“WELL HOW CAN YOU BE SURE? MAYBE HE FORGOT HE’D COME SEE ME AGAIN OR HE’S JUST ASLEEP!”

“...Papyrus… maybe he won’t come back. It’s just a flower you met for one day, it’s not even-”  
“OF COURSE HE’LL COME BACK! HE PROMISED!”

“...Are you sure this isn’t about more than just the flower, Papyrus…?”

Sans twitched, slowly becoming aware of his surroundings. His leaves were dry and uncomfortable, and he felt like he needed another drink. One of his roots jerked, still curled around the half-empty bottle of ketchup, and Sans slowly opened his eyes to look for the familiar voices.

Papyrus and Undyne were arguing nearby. Sans was about to quickly turn to leave when Undyne suddenly caught sight of him.

“...Hey, IT’S YOU!” She suddenly shouted, making Papyrus jump.

“UH, WOWIE UNDYNE, WHAT’S WRONG?” He stammered, looking wildly around.

“It’s that flower with the stupid name!” Undyne snapped, pointing at Sans.

Sans stared back at them, quirking an eyebrow as he calmly waited for whatever they had to say. Too late to run now, so why bother trying? Also, stupid name? Ouch, tough crowd.

“PETALTON!” Papyrus shouted in delight, bounding over to Sans.

Sans shifted, instinctively pulling the ketchup closer to his body. “heya,” he greeted. “why are ya lookin’ for me?”

“YOU SAID YOU’D COME VISIT!” Papyrus insisted.

“it hasn’t been that long,” Sans reasoned, but Papyrus frowned at him, looking away for a moment.

“YOU WEREN’T PLANNING TO COME BACK THOUGH.”

Sans jerked, startled at the quiet sadness in Papyrus’ voice. “um? i was, what gave you that idea?”

Papyrus glanced at Undyne for a moment and then sighed. “YOU ALREADY BROKE ONE PROMISE. MONSTERS THAT BREAK ONE PROMISE TEND TO HAVE TROUBLE KEEPING OTHERS.”

Sans followed Papyrus’ gaze to Undyne and his eyes widened in understanding. “oh.” They were silent for a moment, and then Sans shrugged. “i’m not a monster though.”

“Oh? And what are you, then?” Undyne demanded, stepping forwards in that heavy armor of hers.

Sans met her fierce gaze with a lazy grin. “one of your girlfriend’s experiments, maybe?”

Undyne’s single yellow eye narrowed, and she studied Sans for a moment. “You mean Alphys.” A nod. “That makes no sense. Alphys has no reason to try and make flowers talk.”

Sans took a sip of the ketchup, ignoring Undyne and Papyrus’ dubious stares. “who knows.”

“UNDYNE, CAN’T WE INVITE PETALTON TO STAY WITH US? SINCE I’M STAYING WITH YOU, HE CAN COME AND GO SINCE THERE’S SNOW OUTSIDE!” Papyrus pleaded.

“hey, i didn’t agree to-”  
“No. We need to take the flower to Alphys and get to the bottom of this.” Undyne glanced at Sans, energy flickering at her fingertips. “If what it says is true, then clearly it shouldn’t be out here. Alphys wouldn’t let her experiment just go running around like this.”

“hey, no need for that. i haven’t done anything bad out here. besides, uh, she might not be too… thrilled to see me. we’re not exactly two peas in a pod right now.”

Undyne’s glare intensified as the underlying inference, and her fists clenched. “What did you do to her?!” She snarled, suddenly lunging at Sans.

Sans, slightly startled, tried to duck underground but wasn’t fast enough; the warrior’s hands wrapped around his stem and he barely had enough time to loosen his roots before she yanked him from the earth.

The bottle of ketchup fell from his grip and hit the ground with a clink.

“rude.” Sans grunted as is leaves and roots curled inward. He became increasingly aware of how uncomfortable this position was. Undyne’s grip around his stem tightened; Sans started to feel sick. “that ketchup was a gift. you might wanna _ketch_ me and all, but surely you could’ve waited for me to finish that. or brought a pot. this is uh, kinda painful.”

“UNDYNE!” Papyrus scolded, but Undyne merely shrugged, her yellow eye studying Sans as she swung around and started marching towards Alphys’ lab.

“I’m going to go check on Alphys,” she said. “If this weed’s done anything to her…”

Sans shifted, roots curling around Undyne’s arm as he tried to get a grip. “she’s fine,” he insisted. “but seriously, can you put me down?”

“OH, UMMM…” Papyrus followed Undyne, nervously wringing his hands together. Sans glanced down, frowning. As she was the same height as Sans, she was struggling to hold him high enough to keep him from being able to dip his roots into the soil. “OKAY, BUT YOU’RE NOT GOING TO HURT HIM, ARE YOU?” Papyrus nervously asked.

“No,” Undyne grunted. “Not if he behaves himself.”   

“look, i haven’t done anything and i just want to go sleep in some quiet corner, no need to go outta your way for me or somethin’,” Sans entreated, the air steadily growing warmer. His eyes widened and Sans peered over Undyne’s shoulder to stare at Papyrus. “paps, c’mon. help a flower out here?”

“UNDYNE KNOWS BEST,” Papyrus said, but he looked uncertain. His eyes darted side-to-side, and he swallowed. “DON’T WORRY, PETALTON! WE’LL GET YOU BACK TO YOUR HOME FOR A BIT, BUT YOU CAN STILL COME HANG OUT WITH THE GREAT PAPYRUS-”

“my home is not a lab!” Sans snapped, his eye flaring blue. He could have sworn he heard a soft giggle, saw a fleeting glimpse of yellow petals behind Papyrus, and Sans squirmed again. “let. me. go. NOW.”

Undyne’s grip merely tightened, and Sans glared at her face, waiting for her to address him. “hey, aren’t ya listening? i don’t want to-”

A whooshing sound interrupted Sans and cold, sterile air brushed against his back. “U-Undyne?” A voice squeaked in surprise. ”And Papyrus! What brings you here to…” Alphys’ voice trailed off.

Sans froze, pupils flickering in and out of view as a drop of sweat dripped down his facial area.

There was a pause, and Alphys hesitantly piped up. “Um. Is that flower what I think it is?”

“It said you might be looking for it,” Undyne told her, raising Sans a bit. “So? You have a pot or something I can put this down in? It’s really freaking heavy.”

Sans had a bad feeling about this.

 


	7. Secrets and Realizations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by TheFlightlessTree.

Sans stared as Alphys began to sweat and averted her eyes, unable to hold his gaze. Her eyes roamed around the lab, tracing every corner except the one Sans was situated in, and she fiddled anxiously with her glasses.

“So?” Undyne asked, sitting sprawled over one of the few chairs in the lab. Unlike Alphys, she had no issues glaring at Sans. “What caused you to create a talking flower?”

“I-It was an a-accident!” Alphys muttered nervously. She snuck a peek at Sans and flinched, then shoved her glasses back onto her face and rubbed the back of her head. “...Mostly. I didn’t think this would happen, h-honest!”

Sans shifted, frowning down at the pot that now held him. Alphys had “set up” her lab area before getting Papyrus and Undyne to bring the flower down and plant him in this large pot. The room was somewhat eerie; mirrors lined the walls, a few other, non-sentient echo flowers were sitting in other pots. Sans didn’t look at the mirrors. 

This must have been where she had injected him with determination. What would happen to him now though? Would they trap him here? Sans mentally shrugged. If he disliked his arrangements, there were always shortcuts, he supposed. 

“BUT WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN YOU TWO?” Papyrus asked, glancing around. “PETALTON NEVER MENTIONED THIS.”

“P-Petalton?” Alphys shot a glance at Sans, who glowered back at her. He hadn’t said a word since he had been unceremoniously plopped into the pot. 

Alphys cleaned her glasses with her lab coat again, suddenly seeming to have deemed them still smudged. “O-Oh, of course,” she said quietly. “The flower. Um.” She bit her lip and looked between Papyrus, Undyne, and Sans. “U-Um, I c-can keep Petalton c-company here,” she said, eyes darting to the door. “You guys can h-head home. I’ll be fine, so all of t-this fuss is unnecessary...” 

“No way!” Undyne said, squinting at the scientist. “Alph, you’ve been watching that flower out of the corner of your eye this entire time! Don’t think I didn’t notice,” Undyne added as Alphys flinched. “What did it do to you the first time it escaped?”

“N-Nothing!” Alphys protested weakly. “It n-never escaped, I actually, um… might’ve replanted it before knowing it was sentient? It w-was only when I c-came back to check on it that it… erm.”

“Did it hurt you?” Undyne asked after a moment.

“W-Well, n-not exactly-”

_ “Did it hurt you, Alphys?” _ Undyne repeated, voice harsh. 

Alphys rubbed one of her arms, breaking her eye contact with Undyne. Her silence was answer enough for the other woman. 

Undyne took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nasal area. “Right.” She said, her voice suddenly calm and flat. “Papyrus, I think you should leave.”

“W-WHAT? WHY?” Papyrus asked nervously, eyes darting between the other three occupants of the room. “WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?” 

Undyne picked up the Sans in his pot, resting it on her hip and keeping track of his every move with her good eye. “Alphys. You created this thing, so. Just tell me how to undo whatever it is and we can make sure it doesn’t become a threat to anyone ever again.”

Papyrus’ eyes widened at the same time as Sans’ narrowed. “NO! YOU CAN’T!” His brother pleaded. “ALPHYS, YOU AREN’T REALLY GOING TO AGREE TO THIS, RIGHT?”

“I-I think that’s a bit extreme, U-Undyne,” Alphys stammered. “It w-was just a small s-scare, it didn’t turn into anything s-serious.” 

“Trust me, Alph. This flower could pose a serious issue! Think about it: it can literally pop up anywhere and collect whatever information it wants! It’s a hazard!”

“i wouldn’t hurt anyone,” Sans finally muttered. 

“Oh? Then what did you do to Alphys? I can’t trust your word!”

“nothin’!”

“If it was nothing then she wouldn’t be acting like this!”

“STOP IT!” Papyrus yelled, thrusting in between Undyne and Sans. “THIS ISN’T HELPING, UNDYNE!”

Undyne stiffened, panting, before glowering down at Sans. “Well, Alphys? Can you undo it?” She demanded again.

“W-Well, technically yes b-but…” 

“Alright. Just tell me what to do,” Undyne said, resting one hand on Alphys’ shoulder. “This is for the best.”  

“NO, ALPHYS, YOU CAN’T!” Papyrus pleaded, but Alphys shakily nodded and turned to walk out of the room, hang a left, and enter a room filled with a large machine that looked like a skull. It was eerily familiar…

Papyrus moved to follow, but Undyne set Sans down and leaned against the doorway. “Sorry, Paps,” she said softly. Then she turned and hit a switch, sealing the door shut. Alphys nervously watched, brow furrowed. 

“T-This machine should remove the d-determination I put into P-Petalton,” she stammered. “But Undyne, I r-really don’t think… it’s my r-responsibilty…” 

“Look, Alph, if you keep it then it’ll take up your time and concentration,” Undyne coaxed. “You’re the royal scientist; it’s normal to make a few mistakes. Even I do sometimes. But this one is better off fixed.”

Alphys still hesitated, eyes darting to Sans as if seeking out his opinion.

Sans turned to study the machine before looking back at Alphys. If he just went back to sleep, then the next reset would come all the faster. It wasn’t a big deal anymore. His eyes went back to the door, and the slight itch to escape slipped away. He was tired. So,  _ so  _ damn tired. Sans sighed. “it’s okay, alph,” he said, smiling humorlessly. “i’m fine with this.” 

Alphys hesitated one last time before nodding, seriousness flashing in her eyes. “O-Okay,” she decided. “I’d b-better get this o-over with then.” She walked over to the machine, flicking it on and typing in a few calculations. The machine whirred to life and Undyne placed Sans’ pot inside of the machine. Sans could faintly hear thudding noises from the lab’s door, a skeleton crying for them to stop. Sans was almost tempted to ask them to stop and bulked at the thought of how Papyrus would react directly afterwards, but he forced himself to ignore it.  

Sans peered out the glass at Undyne just as the machine exploded into light, the whirring sound steadily growing. He squinted his eyes, unable to see anything but bright light. 

Papyrus kept hammering at the door, his pleas growing as he undoubtedly heard the machine warm up. 

The machine grew brighter, brighter, and Sans felt lightheaded and his consciousness began slipping away again as he felt disconnected and there was just that tingling left like when he had first woken up as a flower and soon there would be nothing, nothing, nothing anymore and maybe it was better this way because it wouldn’t be like dying, not quite, it was more like a simple ceasing of his existence, it was better this way right? It was better...

The machine abruptly shut down. 

“I-I can’t d-do this, Undyne,” Sans heard Alphys say. The glass slid back up, and Sans blinked, stars dancing across his vision. He blinked again to make out the other monster’s shapes in the suddenly dim lighting. “T-This feels w-wrong.”

Undyne sighed, and Sans could blearily make out her form as she crossed the room to Alphys’ side. “It’s okay, Al,” she comforted. “Do you want me to…?”

“No. I c-created Petalton, so I am going to take care of this. It’s not fair a give something l-life and then just take it away because it’s inconvenient,” Alphys murmered. 

The shape which was Undyne glanced at Sans, shoulders slumping as she let out a deep breath. “Okay. Okay, fine. But if it hurts you again-”

“i won’t,” Sans finally interjected. His voice was gravely, like he had just gotten over a cold, and he felt weak. It took all he had to keep his stem straight, head slightly bowed. “i already told you it was an accident.”

“Fine.” Undyne said, crossing over and opening the door to the rest of the lab. Papyrus practically tumbled in, eyes wide and tear marks on his face. “But if you try anything, you know what will happen-”

“PETALTON!” Papyrus caught sight of the flower and stood up quickly, dusting himself off. “HE’S FINE? YOU DIDN’T- OH, THANK GOODNESS. I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU!” 

Undyne attempted to squirm out of the hug Papyrus engulfed her in, but settled for affectionately noogying his skull instead. “Yeah, yeah,” she said, grinning slightly. “Whatever, you baby bones.” 

Sans watched silently for a moment, turning away to scowl at his stem before lifting his head. “you aren’t even going to ask me what it is that _ i _ want? what happens if i prefer not to be… y’know.” He was so tired. That attempt must have still affected him enough to drain the very little amounts of energy Sans had started off with. 

“Y-You haven’t experienced life yet,” Alphys said shyly, crossing the room to stand in front of Sans. “I’m sure, once you get used to sentient thoughts and everything-”

“no, you don’t understand,” Sans insisted. “i know perfectly well what i’m askin’ so it’s fine. i just want to sleep now.”

Undyne snorted. “And how can you be so sure of that?” 

Sans hesitated. Did he really want to say it? What would happen if he did? The room almost felt like it was spinning and Sans’ thoughts were just swirling right along with it, chasing each other round and round his head until he couldn’t think straight. “i was someone else,” Sans finally muttered. “before i became a flower. i was someone else.”

“That’s not possible,” Alphys said, her face turning pale. She edged forwards, peering up at Sans with wide eyes. “That can’t be- how?”

“that’s what i was trying to ask you the other day,” Sans grunted. “as far as i’m aware, i already turned to dust long ago. this is just… delaying the inevitable. it’s pointless and i’m really, really freaking tired of it all. no one cares if i’m here or not. can’t you just understand that? please, either end this already or leave me alone.” 

The three monsters in the room exchanged startled looks before turning their attention back to Sans. 

“P-Petalton,” Alphys said gently. “O-Or… whatever your name was before all of this. We w-want to help you. You must have been i-important to someone, I’m s-sure. You don’t r-really think that.” Alphys looked down at her claws as she said this, shoulders slumping slightly. Sans would have noted the uncertainty in her eyes another day, would have recognized the self disgust and hate in someone else, but not today. Today, Sans had had enough. 

“FLOWER, YOU KNOW THAT I THINK OF YOU FONDLY,” Papyrus started hesitantly. “I BELIEVE THAT YOU’RE REALLY A GREAT PERSON! YOU JUST NEED TO MAYBE SEE THAT AGAIN! WE CAN HELP YOU-”

“no! i’m just a screw up that failed at my one job, okay?” Sans finally snapped, shaking his head, confused, unsure,  _ hurt.  _ “i was just the lazy, drunk skeleton that couldn’t even defeat a  _ child _ and was dusted! just my luck it was  _ that _ echo flower alph decided to give determination to, huh?! i don’t know why you even bother with me anymore! you of all people should know just how worthless i am when i couldn’t even… couldn’t even bring myself to face my own brother again afterwards...” 

Silence.

Sans realized what he had said and shrank back in on himself, suddenly unable to look away from the ground. He couldn’t look up, but he acutely felt the searing gazes of everyone else in the room. He took a deep, shuddering breath, and weakly laughed. “...heh. you must think i’m pretty pathetic, huh?”

Papyrus was the one to speak first. “NO. IT CAN’T…” The skeleton paused and Sans slowly looked up, Papyrus’ eyes desperately searching Sans’ as he edged closer, hands shaking. “S-SANS? IS THAT YOU?”

“don’t.”

“BUT YOU’RE MY-”

“ _ don’t. _ ” Sans whispered. “ _ please. _ just don’t.” He turned away, stem shaking with silent laughter. “god, look at me,” he said bitterly. “i’m so damn pathetic- i just- i don’t- god, i’m  _ sorry  _ bro-”

Papyrus suddenly rushed forwards and Sans froze, eyes widening, as Papyrus pulled him into a tight hug. “OH MY GOD, SANS,” his brother sobbed. “THANK GOD. THANK GOD YOU’RE STILL HERE.” 

Sans’ eyes flickered as his brother squeezed him again, as if he feared Sans would vanish the second he let go. Beyond his brother’s back, he could see more mirrors. 

The blue flower gazed back at him, expression somber with a brittle smile, and Sans blinked. He should be feeling something. Happiness, perhaps, that Papyrus still wanted him. Sadness that it was this way. Relief that his silent ordeal was over with. 

Something. 

Anything. 

_ Nothing. _

One tear dripped down the flower’s face and he pressed his face into Papyrus’ red scarf as several other tears raced down to join the first.  

Of the four beings in the room, it was only Sans that knew that the tears the echo flower was crying were from bitter frustration, confused hurt that nothing would ever be the same again no matter what he did. Sans had been smashed and cracked, and there was no way to put the pieces back together again.

Not in this run or with these memories anyways. 


	8. Reunions and Trepidations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by FlightlessTree.

"SO… PETALTON, HUH?" Papyrus asked, laughing wryly and shaking his head. "GOD SANS, I DON'T KNOW HOW I DIDN'T NOTICE IT EARLIER. ONLY MY BROTHER COULD HAVE MADE SUCH TERRIBLE PUNS!"

Sans was still clutched in Papyrus' arms, since the skeleton had stubbornly insisted on carrying him back upstairs where they could all sit and talk. Sans hadn't protested, quietly going along with whatever his bro had wanted.

"eh," Sans murmured, tired. "this whole flower thing isn't a common occurrence, as far as i can tell. you're not _that_ much of a numbskull."

"SANS!" Papyrus shouted, but his voice faltered at the end, a silence falling. Shifting, Sans drew his head back, tilting his stem up to meet Papyrus' gaze. His brother's expression had softened, a small smile on his face. "...IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK," he admitted. "I MISSED YOU, BROTHER."

"Um," Alphys started, coughing awkwardly from the chairs opposite of Papyrus and Sans. "I'm… I'm not sure how this happened exactly, but I'm g-going to start research on recreating your body ASAP, okay S-Sans? M-Maybe I can still f-fix all of this…"

"It's not entirely your fault, Alphys," Undyne grunted, looking away from Sans. "It's that human's fault. If I ever see them again-"

"U-Undyne!" Alphys admonished, sneaking a glance at the brothers. "Now's n-not the time. I think Papyrus and Sans should h-head home for today- they've had a long day. I b-bet they want to catch up in private."

"THAT'S A GOOD IDEA, ALPHYS!" Papyrus said, leaping to his feet and protectively clutching the pot to his chest. "I'M GOING TO TAKE SANS HOME! AND THEN I'M GOING TO GO BUY ENOUGH KETCHUP TO LAST A YEAR AND SOME SUPPLIES TO MAKE A CELEBRATION SPAGHETTI! TODAY IS QUITE A DAY TO CELEBRATE AFTER ALL!"

Humming to himself, Papyrus waved goodbye and hopped outside, walking all the way through the Waterfall region. (Papyrus liked the scenery and rarely wanted to go by boat.) At first, Sans was expecting Papyrus to go ahead and say something, but his brother remained silent. It wasn't an awkward silence, either, like when Sans was waiting to be scolded; this one was a comfortable, content break after all the shouting. For the rest of the journey, both brothers were content to silently accept each other's company. There were no necessary words to exchange; for now, both brothers remained lost in their own thoughts.

The snow crunched beneath each of the skeleton's footsteps. Sans watched his brother from the corner of his eye. He… he had been okay with Sans being a flower. Hell, he looked _happy._ But Sans had made a severe misstep; mentioning his lack of soul to Alphys earlier.

Papyrus would be crushed if he knew that it was more than Sans' appearance that had changed. In fact, was Sans even himself anymore? A different body, different personality… how could you tell where one person began and one ended? Were Asriel and Flowey considered one and the same? Was that a fair judgment? Who made that call?

And if not… what was Sans now? Was he just Sans or was he…?

He sighed. Whatever. He just wanted to sleep. Pretending to have emotions constantly for the next few weeks… maybe even months… how could he do it? Papyrus had always been able to see through Sans' expressions. Even if he didn't know what about, for instance, Papyrus had mentioned quietly before he knew Sans was keeping things to himself. Faking happiness when a bout of depression had hit had proved futile in front of the great Papyrus' watchful eye, as had pretending to be calm when Sans was inwardly panicking. Information, Sans could keep hidden. His feelings, however, or lack thereof…

Well. Maybe Sans just had to try a bit harder this time. No matter what, he was determined to keep this side of him a secret. Because if Papyrus found out…

Sans didn't want to know what his brother would think if he found out. Pity, horror, fear, sadness, any of those emotions were exactly what Sans was determined to shield Papyrus from. Even if the part of him that was Sans disappeared forever, the echo flower would repeat this promise forevermore until it was marked in stone.

.

"WE'RE HOME!" Papyrus shouted, wiping his feet on the mat. "WELCOME BACK, SANS!"

"Thanks, bro." Sans' eyes didn't leave his brother's face as he was carried inside and up to his room, Papyrus carefully opening Sans' bedroom door and placing him on the bed.

Papyrus scratched his head, glancing around at the heaps of trash and discarded clothing. "UM! I HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO CLEAN UP YOUR THINGS SINCE I LAST- WELL I MEAN I WAS PLANNING TO BUT I- I'LL JUST CLEAN UP FOR YOU NOW!"

"eh, don't worry 'bout it." Sans patted the bed with one leaf and tilted his head. "maybe for now we should just… i dunno. talk?"

"OH." Papyrus froze, a pair of shorts already half folded in his hands. "OH, YES! OF COURSE! I HAVE SO MUCH I WANT TO SAY, I MEAN…" Papyrus trailed off again, rubbing his face with one hand. "...I'M SORRY SANS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME TODAY. I SHOULD BE HAPPY- AND OF COURSE I AM!- BUT I JUST… DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. BUT DON'T WORRY! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL GET OUT OF THIS SLUMP IN A JIFFY! JUST LET ME-"

"paps," Sans said sharply, narrowing his eyes. "i told you before, didn't i? you don't have to pretend. it's... it's okay," Sans whispered softly. "we're both a wreck, you don't have to be so upbeat and happy like you always try and be." Ah, that was right. It wasn't just Sans who was keeping up appearances here. Sans sighed. How could he have forgotten? He shouldn't fret over himself- it was Papyrus that he needed to keep an eye on.

Papyrus was silent, hesitating as he glanced away for a moment before setting the piece of clothing down and sinking onto the bed next to Sans. "...I'M SORRY," Papyrus finally said, his voice going quiet. "THAT ARGUMENT WE GOT INTO OVER THE PUZZLES THE DAY YOU…" Papyrus shook his head, a bitter smile on his skull. "I COULDN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT HOW I'D NEVER GET TO APOLOGIZE TO YOU, SANS. HOW I FAILED AS A BROTHER. I MEAN I- I WAS SO SURE THE HUMAN WAS- BUT YOU- I'M _SORRY._ "

Sans frowned, slowly shaking his head. "i never blamed you for that, paps."

"BUT EVEN SO! WHEN WE FIRST MET AGAIN- IN THE SHED- YOU ASKED ME IF I RECOGNIZED YOU. I SHOULD HAVE AT ONCE! WHAT KIND OF A BROTHER AM I IF I CAN'T EVEN-"

"bro, you have no idea what kind of a wreck i was when i woke up like this. if i hadn't bumped into you in the shed then i don't know _what_ i would've done." Sans draped one root around Papyrus' shoulders, pulling him close. "you saved me, just like you always have."

"BUT NOT WHEN YOU NEEDED ME THE MOST!" Papyrus weakly protested, tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. "I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE TO STOP THE HUMAN!"

Sans shrugged. "i know, but you couldn't have known they needed a soul to get out of the underground. i mean, sure it was unfortunate that they decided to attack me but-" Sans froze, eyes widening for a split second. Soul to get out of the Underground? _Sans'_ soul? That didn't make any sense, Sans wasn't a boss monster. The only boss monsters around were…

He was wrong. He had to be wrong.

"hey, paps…?" Sans whispered nervously. "have you seen asgore 'round lately?"

"HUH?" Papyrus blinked, confused, but then nodded. "UM, YES! HE BROUGHT ME FLOWERS AFTER YOU F-FELL. ...WHY? DID YOU REMEMBER SOMETHING?"

Sans swallowed nervously, then shrugged. "um, nope! it's just… i feel like i've been away for a long time. i've missed quite a bit, i guess. i missed just… talkin' with you like this these past few days."

Papyrus blinked, then nodded, gaze drifting to the ceiling where Sans had glued some glow-in-the-dark stars they had found in the garbage years ago onto his ceiling. (Papyrus' room had the bigger, brighter ones, but Sans hadn't ever admitted to that.) The stars could barely be seen in the dimly-lit room, but nighttime was fast approaching in Snowdin and Sans guessed the bulb in his flashlight hadn't been changed for a long while, as it flickered occasionally and would probably be out within the hour.

"MMMM. IT HAS BEEN A WHILE, HASN'T IT?" Papyrus mused. "WELL, WE HAVE LOTS TO MAKE UP FOR TONIGHT THEN! THE PUZZLES IN THE FOREST- DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR WORD SEARCH? I SET UP AN ELABORATE PITFALL TRAP AROUND EITHER SIDE! SO WHOEVER GOES THROUGH THERE HAS TO ANSWER YOUR PUZZLE! AND DO YOU KNOW THE KID WITH THE STRIPED SHIRT? THEY TURNED OUT TO ALSO REALLY LIKE UNDYNE, TOO! WHY, JUST THE OTHER DAY..."

Sans grinned, closing his eyes as he listened to Papyrus go on about all the things Sans might have missed in his absence, and slowly felt himself relax. Maybe things still were far from perfect, but this sense of normalcy was at least a start. Sans just had one worry he had to check on in the morning...

And as the night stretched onwards, the brothers fell asleep leaning against each other, fingers and roots tightly entwined as they held onto each other even in their dreams.

.

Sans groaned, shifting into an upright position and glancing around. Papyrus wasn't next to him anymore, and the echo flower blinked in surprise. He hadn't thought Papyrus would leave his side for a while.

If he listened closely, he could hear thumping sounds coming from downstairs, and the smell of spaghetti was slowly filling the air. Or was something burning?

Sans chuckled softly. His bro really didn't change. He waited, going over everything he had thought of last night again in his head, and stared out the window. It was snowing today, a phenomenon unique to the Snowdin area in the Underground. Unlike when Sans was a skeleton, however, he found it more annoying than fascinating. It was an inconvenience to have a body so susceptible to cold weather.

The door creaked open, and Sans glanced over to meet the eyes of his brother. "bonejour bro," Sans said, grinning at his brother. He had to show that he was okay. He was fine.

"SANS! YOU'RE UP! AND IT'S BEFORE NOON, TOO!" Papyrus said, surprised. He grinned, placing one hand on his chest. "WELL! YOUR AMAZING BROTHER MADE CELEBRATION SPAGHETTI, AS PROMISED! AND INSTEAD OF SAUCE, I JUST USED KETCHUP AND SPRINKLES- I HAD SOME LEFT OVER FROM FEEDING YOUR PET ROCK- YOU'LL LOVE IT!"

"oh, thanks paps. you didn't have to do all that for me," Sans said as his brother picked his pot up and moved him downstairs to the table.

"NONSENSE! OF COURSE I DID," Papyrus told him. He rubbed his jaw, studying his spaghetti, before looking back up at Sans. "OH! AND LAST NIGHT, I ACTUALLY GOT _FIVE_ HOURS OF SLEEP! I'VE NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE!"

"oh? keep it up and you'll no longer be taking naps at night, you'll actually be sleeping," Sans teased, leaning over and using his leaves to eat the spaghetti. It still wasn't good, per say, but the ketchup was something Sans had been looking forwards to for so long it didn't matter how the spaghetti itself tasted. "i'm glad that you're feeling better."

"OF COURSE I AM! AFTER OUR TALK LAST NIGHT, I FEEL INVINCIBLE!" Papyrus said proudly, flexing his bony arms. He paused, expression lighting up again. "OH, BY THE WAY, UNDYNE CALLED, SHE SAID SHE'LL COME OVER LATER. SHE WANTED ME TO TELL YOU SHE WAS SORRY! REALLY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT GOT INTO HER YESTERDAY. IT WASN'T LIKE HER."

Sans shrugged. "she just didn't have the situation quite to _scale."_ He winked at Papyrus, which coupled with the inflection in his voice was enough for Papyrus to squint at Sans suspiciously.

"WAS THAT A-"

"yes."

"SANS! A PUN? ALREADY? YOU JUST WOKE UP!" Papyrus protested.

Sans kept grinning, mentally patting himself on the back of his stem. That was a good one. "oh? i remember a _certain_ skeleton telling me he liked his brother's puns just two days ago."

Papyrus froze, eye twitching. "WHA- I NEVER- I NEVER SAID THAT! THAT DIDN'T COUNT, SANS!"

"sure it didn't."

Papyrus scowled across the table at him, Sans' grin clearly hinting that oh yes, he was counting that confession.

"UGH. FINE," Papyrus said, getting up. "I'M GOING TO GO DO THE DISHES. DO YOU WANT TO COME INTO THE KITCHEN WITH ME?" Papyrus was already picking the pot up though, muttering to himself, as he walked towards the kitchen about getting dirt put down instead of the floor and wondering how messy that'd be.

"um, actually, can you put me outside? i have an errand to run," Sans asked. "not that i have feet anymore or that i'd ever run in the first place, but y'know."

Papyrus halted, giving Sans a wary glance. "AN ERRAND?"

Papyrus was probably thinking back on Sans' last broken promise, Sans realized, so he smiled gently and persuaded his brother to listen. "i'll be back in two hours, promise. i don't plan on staying out this time."

"WELL…" Papyrus glanced at Sans, then at the door and back. "OKAY. I'LL TRUST YOU, SANS. YOU'LL BE CAREFUL THOUGH, RIGHT?"

Sans chuckled. "of course." He looked up, meeting Papyrus' eyes, and shrugged. "careful is my middle name."

"NO IT'S NOT, WE DON'T HAVE MIDDLE NAMES, SANS."

"sure it is," Sans said. "just like your middle name is cool."

Papyrus tried not to, he really did, but Sans still saw a smile forming on his brother's face.

Cheering his cool bro up accomplished.

.

Sans popped up above the ground, glancing around warily. He hadn't ever personally been in the Ruins before, there had been no need. However, during one of the resets, he must have entered here once. According to his journal entries, his knock knock pal's name was Toriel, past queen of the Underground.

In other words, a boss monster.

There was a tension in the air, a feeling similar to holding one's breath and waiting for bad news. Sans dove under the earth again, tunneling towards the heart of the Ruins and down the long tunnel. He popped up every few moments, watching, hoping, for movement.

There was a dark room with a patch of grass, but this too was empty. "hello?" The echo flower called, coming upon a pair of doors. Sans studied them, noting that they were left slightly open. He reached out a root to ease it open the rest of the way when a very familiar voice stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you~" The voice whispered. "Isn't it easier to keep up your delusions, same as always?"

Sans paused and glanced back, eyes narrowing. "haaa," he sighed. "you again, huh. you just get creepier and creepier, huh, buddy?"

Flowey grinned, his shape hidden in the shadows and only his eyes and teeth appearing in the dim light. The flower swayed, giggling, but didn't deign to answer Sans.

Sans shook his head, reaching forwards again and forcing the doors open. He had to know the truth. Maybe Toriel was okay. Maybe Sans' soul had been enough. It wasn't completely out of the probable explanations… although Flowey had just strongly hinted that Sans' suspicions were true.

Logically, Sans knew he was just acting to mirror the emotions he had thought he would have- panic, worry, apprehension. None of that mattered, though. The facade had only worked some, and once Sans finished pushing the door open and saw the pile of dust, the rest of his lies just blew away like ash in the breeze.

After all, Sans wasn't a good enough actor to cry over something he wasn't sad about.

"Aw, what's wrong, Sans?" Flowey asked, the yellow flower following him into the room. "I thought you'd feel sad! She was your very dear friend, wasn't she? That's kinda hurtful that you wouldn't even-"

"stop," Sans growled, not lifting his face as his head drooped, leaves pressing to where his earholes should have been. His petals pressed close to his face, shielding his view, and a disgusted shiver ran along the length of his stem. "stop. just. stop. no more… leave me alone."

"Hee hee. Who said I had to listen to you if you don't listen to me?" Flowey whispered, and Sans could feel the other flower's roots surrounding his and trapping any escape other than shortcutting. "You know, Sans, I think you've made some real progress! I mean, boy, I thought you'd still have some kind of reaction to this, but golly! I can't help but be really impressed."

"shut up!" Sans reared his head, bones shooting towards Flowey as soon as Sans spoke. "i said i don't want to see you anymore!" He knew he shouldn't take the bait, but Sans was just so frustrated. Why hadn't it just been him that had been killed? Or, even worse, the thought Sans didn't want to acknowledge.

_if you had a boss soul already, then why me as well?_

Sans gritted his teeth. That human was even sicker than he had thought. That entire battle and the deal- had that all been a game for the creature? Was that all Sans was? A toy to be used and tossed to the side after the human was bored with him? Maybe the human had known this would happen, was watching and laughing somewhere…

"no…" Sans hissed under his breath. His eye flared with magic, the other creator of Sans' annoyance in the room automatically becoming the target. "...don't you have anything better to do, buddy?" Sans growled.

"No, actually! And I could leave, buuuut! I have to get rid of this boredom somehow!" Flowey laughed, dodging the second round of Sans' projectiles and slowly circling him. "Hey, I know! Let's see… I think Papyrus would be really curious to find out what you're trying to do right now, Sans. I mean, attacking me like this? Wow, wouldn't your brother be disgusted with you!"

Sans stiffened, freezing for a moment as he slowly registered the threat. His eyes narrowed to slits and he towered over Flowey, suddenly filled with motivation. No, that wasn't exactly right. Sans was **determined** to hurt whoever was threatening his brother, emotionally or physically and this was-

Ah. This was anger that Sans was feeling. So he _could_ still feel some traces of emotions. Not happiness or sorrow... but rage. He had to stop. This wasn't the way to go about doing things. This wouldn't fix the issue at hand, and it wouldn't bring the reset along any faster. Sans should really just go back home.

"you'll be very sorry if ya keep making me angry, pal. i mean it. back off." Sans glowered at Flowey for a moment longer and then turned away, staring down at the dust pile for a moment longer. "i'm not gonna fall for your stupid tricks. i'm leaving."

"Hmph. Like you're not thrilled to be feeling even anger," Flowey spat from behind him. There was a pause, and Sans could almost hear the gears turning in the other flower's head in the heavy silence. "Well. If you think you were feeling mad just now, then… golly, what _would_ happen if I killed Papyrus?" Sans froze in his tracks, water slowly dripping down one of his petals, and Flowey chuckled again. "Let's see how long you can protect both your secret and your brother. Oh, but don't worry so much, Sans! I'll entertain you for this run, and when you _do_ finally snap then we'll still have each other even if… _others_ … must be taken out of the game to make it exciting. We'll experience a rush of this new run together and then, when we're bored and nothing new happens, I bet one of us will regain the power to reset! We're beings made of determination, so why not?! If the human doesn't return, then that just means the reset point might be you waking up as a flower! Over and over and over again…"  
" _Doesn't that sound like fun~?"_


End file.
